How to succeed in exams: all you really need to know

The good news: the right preparation can improve your results by two grades. The bad news: waving a magic wand won't help. Matt Rodda gets advice from the experts

Some people read textbooks in the bath when revising for exams while others plaster their homes with notelets covered in facts. There are certainly many ways to review work, but there is no magic formula guaranteeing exam success. Experts agree that only hard work, planning and starting early, preferably during the spring term, will maximise most people's chances.

There are a few wily short cuts that can make a big difference - but the exact approach can only be determined by the person who is going to have to sit the GCSE, A-level or other exam.

The first and most basic point is to make a solid revision plan, says Dr Val Brooks, a specialist in educational assessment from Warwick University's Institute of Education. "Research on undergraduates shows that those who have a working style based on breaking down tasks into small, manageable parts end up with better degrees," she says.

Revision should never simply be seen as soaking up knowledge. Pupils should try to get involved in what they are studying - preferably by trying to marshal the topics they are revising.

Parents should not stop their children from revising with a friend, if they are explaining concepts to one another, she says. This can be one of the best ways to understand a complicated subject. Writing out plans for exam answers and doing timed exam questions are also important.

Anyone who is going to sit an exam needs to have as good a knowledge as possible of the marking scheme, according to Dr Brooks. Teachers should pass on to pupils details of specimen material from exam boards. These model answers help to show exactly what the difference is between an A star and a C grade, and show students just how much work they need to do.

It is generally better to have a series of intensive study periods followed by a short break. The length of time individuals can concentrate for varies, but Dr Brooks believes a 40-minute session followed by a 10-minute break and another session is a good way to start.

Writing down key points can help to build up a sort of index in a student's memory that can unlock more detail once they have written down a few key words.

Dr Rosemary Stevenson, a researcher in learning at Durham University's psychology department, says: "People who say they can't revise are talking themselves out of it. Motivation is at the root of learning. That is why some people find it easier to learn than others, although how we learn is a very complicated subject."

Some students, for example, like to use colour-coded charts, while others favour writing out notes. There is a lot of research on different learning styles, but no clear view about which technique is best. Colour coding, for example, may help students to learn facts, but it won't help their understanding - which is the key to doing well.

Being organised is one of the most important skills any student can have. It is also the best defence against a panic attack during an exam.

If you start to panic, the best thing is to control your breathing by taking slow, deep breaths. After that, you should move on to another question before coming back to the difficult section later.

Students who are extremely anxious about exams should consider professional counselling. But for this to be successful, it is necessary to start during the spring term, because it usually takes several weeks to take effect.

George Turnbull, spokesman for the Associated Examining Board and author of the booklet How to do Better at Exams, advises students to be realistic and to start revising soon. "For most students, the hardest thing is getting started. It's best to do about 10 minutes a night and build up to doing more revision later," he says.

If parents try to intervene too strongly, they may end up turning revision into a battleground. The best way for mothers and fathers to help is by being supportive. During the final few hours before an exam, they should do everything to help students to feel relaxed.

And anyone taking GCSEs or A-levels, remember: history is littered with famous people who did not do well in exams.

First cereal and toast, then the work begins

It is 8am and the rain is lashing the classroom windows. Early- morning revision at Coundon Court School is about to begin.

The room smells strongly of toast. Around 20 16-year-olds are crunching their way through breakfast laid on by the Coventry comprehensive to fortify themselves for maths GCSE revision. Also on the menu is the Fibonacci Sequence and revising square numbers.

The school is unusually silent at this early hour and the pupils uncharacteristically quiet. Downstairs another group is revising science, refreshing their knowledge of photosynthesis.

Maths teacher Simon Ellis is in favour of the 8am slot. It is the best time to teach, he says, though he knows he is teaching the converted: the harder-working students.

Most revision-class pupils are aware that they have reached make-or-break time for their GCSEs and that a grade C in maths is vital. Vicky Vincent- Betts, 16, speaks for many: "The GCSE exams are not far away. They're just nine weeks off and I'm quite worried about them.

"For the first couple of weeks it was quite hard to start school this early, but I've got used to it and I've saved time by cycling instead of walking."

Matthew Jones, 15, doesn't mind getting up at 7am. He knows he needs maths and it seems sensible to come in early one day a week if that made the difference between a C and a D.

Coundon Court runs the classes as part of a series of additional revision sessions that began two years ago. There are also lunchtime, after-school and holiday classes, though the early-morning sessions were only started this school year.

Teachers coming in early are given time off in lieu. The school is a technology college and has been given extra funding which helps to cover the cost of employing more part-time staff.

But the headteacher, David Kershaw, says the revision sessions would have gone ahead anyway because they are crucial to raising standards, particularly in helping students who might have got a grade D to achieve a C.

The school has an impressive record of improving GCSE grades. The percentage of pupils gaining five A-C grades has risen by a fifth over the past four years, to 58 per cent.

A guide to the guides

There is a huge range of guides to help students study for exams - in book form and on the television, and increasingly through multimedia. In addition, students are helping one another. Here are some aids:

n It is possible to buy a guide to revising GCSE physics written by sixth-formers at Manchester Grammar School, based on their own experiences.

n The Associated Examining Board and Barclays Bank have published a free booklet, How to do Better in Exams. To order, phone 0990 102222.

n Longman is one of a number of publishers producing traditional study guides. The guides, written by experienced examineers, cost pounds 9.99 and cover 21 GCSE subjects. Longman produces exam practice papers (pounds 4.99 each) and a CD-Rom covering English, maths and science (pounds 19.99).

n The BBC has produced a GCSE Bitesize package including books, television programmes and an Internet site. The package covers seven subjects, and the books cost pounds 4.99 or pounds 6.99. The TV programmes are designed to be recorded, and access to the Internet site is free.

n Manchester Grammar School's physics revision guide costs pounds 6.95 and is on sale in Waterstone's and Dillons bookshops.

In their own words ...

Gareth Fowler,16, five GCSEs at C and above.

"Extra tuition in maths was critical for me. I got a lot of help on how to answer questions. I found exam technique a bit difficult. I also had help making sure I could understand things like Pythagoras' theorem and trigonometry."

Carl Hudson, 16, five GCSEs at C and above, A-levels in information technology and geography.

"I got extra tuition in maths and it raised my grade from a D to a C. I want to work as a computer technician, and I wouldn't have had any hope of getting a job without it."

Sukhbir Atwal, 17, English, history and media studies at A-level, says having extra help has improved his maths grade. "I was on for a C in maths and I could have just carried on, but I wanted to get a higher grade and going to a revision session helped me."

Marie Hancocks, 16, English, history and geography A-levels: "I went to several revision sessions. They were a confidence- booster and gave me pointers about how to lay out answers."

success stories

School: Sharnbrook Upper, Bedfordshire.

Claim to fame: Grant-maintained comprehensive with Ofsted award of excellence.

Passed/failed: 62 per cent of pupils gain five A to C grades at GCSE. Students come from what Ofsted called a ''slightly favoured'' catchment area.

n Pupils advised to take half-hour breaks every two hours and then revise another subject. Staff say research has shown it is difficult to concentrate on revising the same subject for more than a couple of hours.

n Sixth-formers encouraged to talk to GCSE pupils, urging them to study.

n Parents are shown how to help their children revise.

TOP TIP

Fred Birkett, deputy headteacher: ''Preparing your revision properly can increase your mark by two grades. March is about as late as you can leave starting to revise''.

The school: Manchester Grammar

Claim to fame: Founded in 1515, it is the largest independent day school in Britain. It has a 100 per cent pass rate for gaining five A to C grades at GCSE.

Passed/failed: School is highly selective and pupils all have IQ scores in the top 6 per cent.

n Pupils urged to get organised in the second half of the spring term.

n Absolutely vital for pupils fully to understand everything they have learnt before they revise. Many pupils miss some lessons through illness or fail to understand all topics.

n Sixth-formers published their own revision guide to GCSE physics this week. Other guides will follow.

TOP TIP

Dr Martin Stephen, High Master: ''If you put rubbish in, you get rubbish out."

School: Northicote, Wolverhampton.

Claim to fame: The headteacher, Geoffrey Hampton, was knighted in the New Year honours list for turning around what was a failing inner-city school.

Passed/failed: Results are rising. The percentage gaining five A to C grades at GCSE are up from 10 to 12 per cent. The percentage of children gaining five A to G grades is up to 87 per cent.

n Sixth-formers talk to 15- and 16-year-olds to encourage them to revise.

n A special parents evening is held to offer tips on revision and advice on what standards are expected.

TOP TIP

Sir Geoffrey: "All those taking GCSEs are given a revision guide, containing tips on studying and model revision plans. During the week before the GCSE exams begin pupils are shown around the hall to help calm them down

Exam Preparation Tips

For many people, exam time is the most stressful part of the school year. With so much riding on the outcome, there can be a high degree of pressure to perform well. Here are some exam preparation tips to help you excel in school.

Getting Started

The earlier you start, the more time you will have to prepare for the exam. You don't have to wait until exam time approaches; try to set the stage from the beginning of the course by reviewing the material after each class. By starting early and studying on a regular basis, you will have a better opportunity to absorb the information and life will be a lot easier when it's time to put it all together for the exam.

Make sure all of your course material is well organized so you can find and fill any gaps. If you miss any classes, get the notes from your friends right away instead of scrambling at the last minute. Proper organization will help you to get a better picture of the material that has to be covered and improve the flow of the study process.

Creating a Study Plan

As the exam nears, you will need to create a plan to help you study effectively and minimize stress. The first step is to figure out how much time and effort you must dedicate to studying for the exam by asking the following questions:

• How much material do you need to cover?
• How difficult is the material?
• How much time is available?
• Do you have any other priorities during the study period?
• What is the format of the exam?
• How important is the exam?
• What is your performance target for the exam?

To prepare the study plan, map out all of the material that has to be covered and make a schedule showing what, when and how much you will study each day. If you have kept up with the course work, studying will involve revision of the material that you have already covered. If you are behind in the course, you will have to finish the readings and other uncompleted work before starting the revision (if there isn't enough time to go over everything, you must decide what is most important for the exam).

Here are some tips to follow in creating your study plan:

• budget your time realistically;
• allocate the study time into several manageable study sessions;
• divide the course material into small segments and assign them to the study sessions;
• set clear and specific goals for the study sessions;
• prioritize to ensure that material weighted more heavily in the exam gets sufficient study time;
• take into account your familiarity with the material and the difficulty level;
• don't make the study sessions too long;
• study sessions should have enough variety in terms of topics and activities to prevent boredom and loss of effectiveness;
• avoid cramming before the exam; and
• don't forget to include regular breaks.

Studying for the Exam

You are now armed with a plan and ready to start studying for the exam. Try to study in a location where you can concentrate and won't be interrupted. You can work with others or join a study group if you find it helpful, but be careful to keep it from turning into an inefficient use of your time. Some proven study tools and techniques are listed below - people respond to different learning styles, so use what works for you.

Revising with Summary Notes

Make a condensed version of your readings and class notes by creating summary notes. Pinpoint the key terms and concepts and make sure that you understand them. You can identify key terms and concepts by paying attention to what has been emphasized in your classes, textbooks and course syllabus. For example, if a particular topic has taken up a lot of time in the classroom, it is more likely to be on the exam and you should have a good understanding of it.

The process of making summary notes can help you to retain more information. By writing the information thoughtfully instead of just seeing it, you can develop a greater perception of the material. To take this further, activate your other senses: you can recite the summary notes aloud, and even record and listen to them.

Memorizing with Flashcards

Flashcards (or "index cards") are a good memorization tool. Reduce your summary notes into bullet points, keywords, lists, formulas and diagrams and place them onto a card for each topic. (Some people like to use flashcards to prepare their summary notes in the first place, while others find that it leads to information overload.)

The items on the flashcards act as memory triggers. By memorizing the flashcards you can enhance your ability to recall larger bits of information referenced by the triggers. You can carry the cards with you and review them even when you have only short bursts of time available.

Practicing under Exam Conditions

Knowing the course material is necessary but not sufficient to guarantee success on the exam - you also need to be able to communicate the answers effectively under exam conditions. Practice using sample questions in the same format as the exam and answer them in a simulated test environment. The sample questions can be sourced from old exams and assignments, which are often similar from year to year with small changes. Even though you are only practicing, it is better to write full answers to the questions so you can work through the entire thought process.

The practice session should serve as a feedback loop. Check the answers to the practice questions to diagnose your strengths and weaknesses. If you are weak in an area, go back and study it further to address any gaps.

Taking Care of Yourself

Don't forget to take care of yourself during the exam preparation. It is very important to be in good mental and physical condition for the exam. A small amount of stress can get you psyched, but too much mental or physical strain can be detrimental to your performance. The last thing you want to do is to sabotage your efforts by ignoring your well-being.

After you finish studying, take some time to relax. Don't stay up too late if you can help it and try to get a good night's sleep. Eat before the exam to build your energy, but avoid heavy foods that can make you drowsy.

Keep a positive attitude about the exam. Think of it as a way to demonstrate your knowledge and not as some imposing challenge. Go to the exam focused and relaxed - you have done the work, now it's time to reap the rewards

Edited By: Obi Chidiebere Samuel

Seven Common Mistakes Youth Do in Relating to the Opposite Sex

Mistake 1: We misinterpret the attentions of the opposite sex.

As an outgrowth of the frustration and desperation sometimes experienced when we want to be married, many singles overreact to any attention from someone of the opposite sex, especially if that someone is attractive to them. If a man looks at us twice, we women can read all kinds of things into it. If a woman happens to sit by a man at a social function, he thinks she’s sending him come-ons.

This misinterpretation of attentions is one of the major reasons it’s difficult for a single man and woman to have a platonic relationship. Both are on their guard, worried about signals, instead of allowing that two people can actually have a friendly conversation and enjoy each other’s company without a romantic attraction.

I also observe too often that many singles – yes, Christian singles – enjoy sending signals and then disowning them. After all, it’s an ego trip to think that one or two people are “on your string,” hoping you’ll come their way sooner or later, even if you’re not attracted to them. They disguise their maneuvers (perhaps even to themselves) by telling everyone, “We’re just friends.” They even say that to the other person right up front, laying the groundwork for a quick exit when necessary, and then proceed to give attentions and signals that are truly misleading. Anyone would misinterpret them. And they break not a few hearts in the process of feeding their egos.

Mistake 2: We put up with too much in a relationship and hang on too long.

Do yourself a favor: Admit you have an emotional dependency you’re calling “love” – or even admit that you really love the person if you think you do – but acknowledge that it’s a wrong relationship and get out.

How do you get out? By taking drastic steps. Jesus said, If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell (Matthew 5:29-30).

If you’re in a relationship and you’re being treated with disrespect, thoughtlessness, or unkindness, that’s a good sign you’ve hung on too long and put up with too much. If you’re hoping he or she will change, you don’t know too much about human nature. The one thing that might make a person like this change is having to live with the consequences of his or her behavior – namely, losing the relationship. As long as he or she can get by with treating you shabbily, there’s not likely to be much change in behavior.

If you’re not happy with the treatment you’re receiving from a person before you marry, you can be sure the treatment you would get after marriage would be much more of the same and worse.

Mistake 3: We’re not always very good at reading danger signals in a relationship.

I often see single people in relationships that have poor choice written all over them, but somehow they never seem to see the danger signals. The truth is, most of the time they just don’t want to see them.

Remember that when our emotions get involved in a situation, it’s very easy to lose perspective. Someone once told me, “Emotions and feelings have zero IQ,” and I think that’s a good thing to remember. You cannot trust your emotions. Those juices get flowing, those romantic notions start whirling around in your head, and you can lose perspective in an instant.

Let’s list a few of the danger signals:

Significant age difference. This will vary depending on individuals and depending on the ages involved. I’m not saying that age difference is always a problem, but it certainly is one thing you should consider carefully.

Different family upbringing. It’s a fact that no two families are alike, but look at the basics: Were both families Christian? What values were taught by the families? What kind of relationships exist among the family members? Some families are very close and some are not.

Priority of spiritual life. If one person in the relationship puts a higher priority on spiritual life than the other, it’s a real danger signal and should not be ignored. Usually when you are involved with someone whose spiritual temperature is below your own, you don’t bring them up to your level, you go down to theirs. I’ve seen it time and again.

Mistake 4: We get physically involved much too soon and go too far.

Here again we Christians have allowed the world system and philosophy to infiltrate our thinking about the physical aspects of a relationship. Romans 12:1-2 says we are not to be conformed to this world, but transformed by a renewed mind. The Phillips translation says, “Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold.” When we become casual about having sex before marriage, we’ve been shoved into the world’s mold.

If you truly want to remain pure in your sexual life and keep yourself for the one person God has for you, or keep yourself for Christ if you remain single, you most certainly can do that. There is nothing impossible about it.

However, in order to do that, you will need a discipline that I don’t see in many singles, a discipline to go the extra mile in keeping the physical contact down to a minimum. You simply cannot trust the chemistry of your body. It is very powerful, and once it gets going, finding the discipline to keep it under control is extremely difficult. So the secret is to keep the electricity down to low levels by controlling the physical contact.

Mistake 5: We think that the only necessary requirement for a date or mate is that he or she is a Christian.

I don’t believe that there is only one person in this whole world whom God intends for us to marry, and if we miss that person, we’ve missed our perfect mate. (Of course, I don’t believe that it’s necessarily true that each of us is intended by God to be married. But that’s another subject!) I think it’s possible to find more than one person with whom you can be compatible and have a good lifelong relationship.

It’s very smart to put yourself though intensive soul-searching when you consider marrying someone. Keeping in mind that your emotions are involved and therefore your perspective may be off center, ask for advice from trusted people. Get them to play devil’s advocate and throw every question they can at you. Take every compatibility test you can find. Do all you can do to know what you’re getting into before you jump. You’ll never be totally prepared for marriage, but it’s a good idea to try to find out before you walk down the aisle whether this match is likely to work well.

Mistake 6: We carry our list of requirements for a relationship with us and judge others too quickly and selfishly.

I used to have a list of the things I wanted in a man. The list was divided into “Essential” and “Nonessential.” Now, that’s not an altogether bad idea.

My “Essential” list now has one thing on it: “Must be someone who would enhance my walk with God and allow us to have a more effective ministry together than we have separately.”

Isn’t it great that our God is big enough to deal with all our differences and idiosyncrasies? He isn’t looking for cookie-cutter Christians, all of us looking and acting just alike in every way. We certainly all have the same biblical principles to apply to our lives, but within those principles, there’s much room for individuality and personality. Amen to that!

Many singles, however, seem to have a long list of requirements for their potential date or mate, and they’ve gotten a bit carried away with it, probably as a reaction to the many failed marriages around us. It’s as though they’re checking you out, making sure you meet their needs. They approach this area of their lives as they might approach buying a car: What features do you have and what are the benefits of those features to me?

Having certain important guidelines in mind as we meet and date people is helpful in keeping us from making totally emotional decisions. But checking people out for selfish reasons is going too far.

Mistake 7: We think that anything is better than being alone.

While it’s true that we have basic needs for companionship, it’s not true that aloneness is the worst condition in the whole world. Note that I said aloneness, not loneliness. There’s a big difference, you know.

Most people fear aloneness because to them it represents loneliness. They haven’t learned to fill their time so that aloneness is valuable and refreshing for them. I have learned to love my aloneness, but it has not always been that way. It has come as I’ve learned to enjoy the presence of God and stopped equating aloneness with loneliness.

Loneliness is a feeling, an attitude. We don’t get through this life without experiencing it to some degree. But to settle for anything as a substitute for loneliness is a big mistake. There are worse things than loneliness, and by God’s grace we do not have to be overcome and defeated by loneliness. He can take our aloneness and turn it into beautiful, fruitful, productive time with Him.

Recognize that being alone doesn’t mean you’re a social misfit. Don’t buy into the lies of our enemy, who wants you to feel desperate. When we feel desperate, we act in irrational and unprincipled ways. When we feel an overpowering need to have someone near, we’ll settle for anything.

Also recognize your need for social interaction and plan good things. But you don’t have to have a date to have company; reach out to others and share your time. Not with the idea that it’s second best – you’d rather have a date but since you can’t you’ll be with friends – enjoy those people for who they are, and you’ll discover that the loneliness goes away.

Edited By Obi Chidiebere Samuel

How to Detect Common Computer Problems

The using of an electronic devices including computer certainly caused problems during the working time. Maybe just an operating problems or even worse “crash” between applications installed or the lost of data
within. All these major common computer problems and be handled if we doing maintenance actions to prevents problems ahead. The following tips below shows us how to detect the most common computer problems.

Steps to detecting what’s going on to your computer:
1. Check the POST. POST stands for Power On Self Test. This is generally the first or second thing that appears on a computer after turning on the power. This appears before the operating system begins to load. The POST will display any problems found with hardware that makes the computer unable to boot, POST may also display problems with hardware that allow the computer to boot, but not operate at its full capacity during operation.
2. Notice the operating system booting time. If it takes longer time than usual, it means something is slow it down the performance.
3. Perform a mandatory clean up and tune up procedures. It will keep your computer to its maximum performance.
4. Check on the new hardware installed. Many of new hardware installed can cause, malfunction to the main systems. To check and arrange hardware properties jus click on the Device Manager from Control
Panel, click System icon, go to Hardware tab, then Device Manager.
5. Check on the new software installed. Just like the hardware, many of software or application could cause a crash system while it works. For prevent it happens, you could uninstalled the software that caused
crash systems and in the feature have a better check out on the software compatibility with your system installed.
6. Check RAM and CPU consumption. Use the Task Manager to check on, click taskbar select Task Manager, and select Processes tab.

Common Problems:
Slow Computer Performance
There are so many factors that can cause slow running laptop includes:

1.    Hard Drive Capacity
The hard drive capacity is the easiest part you can check on. When the computer not performs as fast as usual, the hard drive capacity is the first aspect you can check on. Just easily go to “my computer” and
then right click on the “properties”, it will popup the capacity you’ve been used and how much spaces available. If the hard drive capacity is used up 90% it’s a red alert for you. Immediately backup your data into another media, into a DVD or flashdrive, or just uninstall rarely used/ no longer need applications and delete unused files to save up hard drive capacity. Performs hard drive defragment or used software to clean up your computers.

2.    Virus
Virus is the major problems in computers problem these global connection days. It will interrupt the standard application algorithm. To clean up your computer from viruses, you must install an antivirus (recommended from the famous vendors)

Heaten Up Computers
Heaten up computers could be caused by several things, such as the decrease of cooling system performance or even the malfunctions of the application installed that caused th hardware works too hard and
finally caused an extra heat on. If that happens, just buy a new cooling systems part to replace the old parts. Or if the problem is software, then uninstalled the software.

Complete Guide to Networking Windows 7 with XP and Vista

XP and Windows 7 should (in theory) work together in a peer to peer LAN.   Having stated that the real truth is that Windows has and always will be a pain in the neck when using a mix of different OS versions.   Somewhere deep in the bowels of the windows networking code there are flaws that rear their ugly head when linking older versions of Windows with a newer version of Windows.  It was true when linking Windows 98se to XP Pro, XP Pro to Vista, and now I just hit the TCP/IP wall with XP Pro SP3 to Windows 7 Home Premium.   It has always been that the TCP/IP protocol that is built into all versions of Windows (from Windows 3.1 on) has never worked well with peer to peer networking.  I won't go into and details because I could write volumes about what the problems are so I'll try be as brief as possible.

1.  Always make sure the XP and Windows 7 computers have a password for the user name you are logging in with.  Windows XP Pro can be set up to network in what is called "anonymous" login mode but that leaves some big security problems that can (and should) be avoided by making sure all computers in the network have login passwords.  If you have a single user name on your computers and don't want to have to type in the password every time you boot XP or Windows 7 (you just want to boot right to the desktop) then go to a command prompt and type "control userpasswords2".  This will run a simple utility "User Accounts" that has a check box at the top stating "Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer".  Uncheck this, click OK and another window pops up asking you to type in a user name and password.  Once you do that every time you boot XP, Vista, or Windows 7 (thank god that Microsoft didn't take it out of 7) you will automatically log in with that user name and password.

2.  Always use 1 word user names.  Some of the workarounds I've had to use require typing in commands from the DOS .. err .. Command prompt and since spaces in usernames don't work there having a single user name (or at least use the _ character instead of the space) will allow these commands (such as NET USE) to work when the "Network Places" method of navigating to the shared computer and finding the shared folder to map a drive letter to doesn't work.  I ran into that exact problem yesterday trying to get a Windows XP Pro SP3 computer to map a drive letter to a share folder on a Windows 7 Home Premium computer so Microsoft hasn't fixed this yet.

3.  As always make sure all computers have the same Workgroup name.  It may seem like a trivial thing but a simple oversight on this will cause you big headaches so double check that each computer (XP and Windows 7) all have the same Workgroup name.  I've always run into a failure to see other computers in the network if the workgroup names are different so pick a Workgroup name and set it on all computers in your network.

4-A.  On the computer you are sharing the hard drive you will need to add the user names and passwords to be able to auto log in from the other computer.  IF XP is the "server" then just go to the control panel, go into "Administrative Tools", and pick "Computer Management".  In the Computer Management tool double click on the "Local Users and Groups" to expand it, then click on "Users" to get the current list of user names on the right.  From here you can right click on either the "Users" in the left column or right click in the empty white space on the right to get a menu that has the "Add User" choice at the top so you can create user names and passwords for them.  When done don't forget to go into the "Groups" choice and add the new users to the appropriate group (such as Administrators if that user needs full permissions).

4-B.  WARNING !!!   If you are going to want to use the Windows 7 Home Premium computer as the server and have XP Pro workstations then you are going to be in for a rude awakening.  Microsoft (in their infinite wisdom... err... stupidity) has removed the "Local Users and Groups" out of all Home versions of Windows 7.   This means there is no Group Policy Editor (gpedit.msc) so there is no easy way to add user names and passwords.   It seams that Windows 7 should magically see the other XP Pro computers when you are "sharing" out a folder and adding the user names that are allowed access to it.   This is another "In theory this should work" issue that is causing me big problems such as not seeing the XP computer because nothing on it is being shared so the "NET VIEW" command doesn't list these computers and when typing in the username Windows 7 states that it can't find the user so it refuses to add it to the share list.   If anyone has tried to copy the "Microsoft Management Console" DLL file from a Windows 7 Pro or Ultimate version to Windows 7 Home Premium and get it to work I'd love to here from you.  That trick worked with XP Home but I don't have a computer running either of these versions of Windows 7 yet so I haven't tried it myself.

5.  Here's where the hair pulling can start so be prepared to get you hands dirty if the TCP/IP protocol fails to work properly.  Normally after making sure the workgroup, user names, and passwords are all correct you should be able to go to "Network Places" and navigate down through "Entire Network", "Microsoft Windows Network".  your Workgroup name, and see a list computers that have a folder(s) shared on them so you can then right click on the share, choose "Map Network Drive", pick the drive letter, and you're done.  If in fact you do get this to work then HURRAY for you.  You are indeed done and no hair pulling or gnashing of teeth is required.  If you aren't one of the fortunate ones then network life just got a lot harder (I 'm not a "fortunate one").   I won't go into all the nitty gritty details (if you ask me nicely I will though) but the short answer to this is that there are still weird SNMP bugs in the Windows OS when using TCP/IP as the communication protocol in a mixed Windows OS environment.   Microsoft always insists that this is all you need but I live in the "real" world and when all too often peer to peer network communication fails with the TCP/IP protocol I have to resort to adding in a 2nd network protocol.  I just went through this on 11-27-09 when XP Pro always came back with a 1326 error even though I had everything set correctly on the Windows 7 Home Premium computer with the shared folder.  Windows 7 did correctly see the XP Pro computer (it had a shared printer) so the XP user name was correctly added to the share list so all was good there but XP stubbornly refused to connect properly to the Windows 7 shared folder.   I've had this problem too many times with XP and Vista so at least I knew what I had to do.  I needed to add the IPX/SPX protocol.  Since this is not in Windows 7 anymore I had to Google and find a link to download the Vista IPX/SPX protocol and add it but at least it can be found and the Vista IPX/SPX version works with Windows 7.  Again if you need help here ask and I'll provide details.  Anyway, after the IPX/SPX protocol is installed into XP and Windows 7 Home Premium the XP Pro computer can log into the Windows 7 computer successfully and the mapped drive function finally works.  One would think that after 5 versions of Windows (98, 2000, XP, Vista, Windows 7) that this shouldn't be hard to do but the fact is that Windows has had so many programmers coding it and so many programmers have come and gone and Windows has been patched so many times that it's a wonder it works at all.



To anyone reading this I'd love to hear if you have any easier and simpler ways to use Windows 7 Home Premium as a server (and please no comments about why I shouldn't be using Home Premium at all as a server).